Fireheart
by AiryLuff
Summary: This story isn't being updated any more. D: Sorry folks, lost inspiration strikes again. For those curious to read: a young Charmander has to find his way in the world after the tragic loss of his mother, and left with a deep running fear of people.
1. Chapter 1 : Degrees of Separation

_Crack!_

The little orange salamander watched his parent as she smashed strong, deadly fists into the small boulder. The fire on its mother's tail would flare violently with every punch, as if the adrenaline even affected the burning fire. It always impressed the little Charmander to watch his mother punching through rocks like they were nothing, crushing them into pebbles to make a nest for the pair to sleep on, or to reveal a safe cave.

With a sigh, the Charmeleon came to a stop, flexing her clawed fingers and shaking her paws afterwards as if to shake out slight irritation. She turned and looked over her shoulder at the younger lizard, and a gentle look passed onto her face. "_Charmeleon._"

Leaping to his paws, the little Charmander dashed over to his mother. He didn't need to be told twice to be close to his mother; she was the safest place on his planet no matter where they were. As he climbed onto her back, awkwardly clinging to one of her shoulders in a brief and funny sort of hug, the baby lizard knew he would love his mother forever. That they would be together forever, as a family looking out for each other.

But sometimes, forever is not as long as we would like it to be...

* * *

Hunting at night always made the small Charmander nervous. He wasn't scared of the dark, exactly, but the prospect of what lurked in it terrified him. As he stayed by his mother, padding slowly along beside her and clinging for dear life to her tail and the light it offered him, the little lizard couldn't shake the feeling tonight was a bad night.

"_Char charmander._"

His mother stopped, looking down at him and frowning slightly. "_Meleon._"

"_Char!_"

His pleading was of no use, however. They had both not eaten for a couple of days, and as such they were both very hungry. His mother wasn't about to _not_ hunt just because he had a funny feeling, and although it was upsetting to feel so ignored the Charmander also knew his mother was right. They had to eat.

For the first two hours of the night, it was fine. They managed to find a small baby Pidgey that had fallen from its nest in the trees, and as his mother explained to him, it had been on the ground for quite some time. It was near death, and while she was killing it, she was putting it out of its misery. The Charmander felt immensely sorry for the Pidgey at the story, and he didn't even want to imagine how horrible it would be without his mother. He patted the little bird on its head and whispered little apologies to it for a moment before his mother shooed him away. The kill was quick and clean and the little baby bird hadn't felt a thing.

The small Charmander was always grateful he had such a caring mother. She was always looking out for others, if she could, and would never torture something or hurt it if she didn't have to.

The little ball of feathers hadn't proved enough of a meal for both to share, and so the Charmeleon placed her son into a hole in a nearby tree with his meal and told him to stay quiet while she went out to find her own meal. She would be back before he knew it, had been her near exact words. He hadn't been happy with having to be all on his own in a small dark hole, and he didn't manage to eat much more of his meal once he was all alone. Instead the Charmander lost his appetite, and curled up in a little corner hugging his tail to his face and admiring the little bit of warmth and light. Of course, it didn't replace the warmth and light of his mother's tail, and the little orange Pokemon only wished that his mother was back.

It had only been a few minutes – despite the fact it felt like hours – when he heard it. The cry of a Charmeleon in pain, and the angry barks of Pokemon he didn't know. This was followed by the shouting of something that didn't even sound like a Pokemon; he could understand what it said yet it did not speak the same language that all Pokemon did.

Worried for his mother and forgetting her orders, the little Charmander rushed out of the hole and followed the sounds of a fight.

"Houndoor, use Crunch now!"

"_Houndour!_"

He was close now. Sticking his head through a bush and ignoring the irritation of small and scratchy branches, the Charmander blinked as the scene unfolded before his eyes.

His mother was trying to fight off a strange, black dog Pokemon that refused to let go of her right arm. The wound didn't look all that serious, but it was enough to cause the Charmeleon's arm to bleed, and this scared the little orange Charmander. The second black dog Pokemon was running in towards her, about to attack her and probably hurt her more seriously.

Without really knowing what he was doing, and only knowing that his mother was hurt and this was bad, the little Charmander jumped out the bushes and ran forward. He focused all his energy on getting to his mother before the strange dog Pokemon, and once he was close enough the lizard leapt with claws ready.

"Houndour lookout!" The strange, not-Pokemon cried.

But he was too late. There was a loud, pained yelp, and the second black dog Pokemon staggered backwards suddenly as it shook it's head violently. Blood dribbled down its nose and across its head, getting slightly into one eye and causing great irritation.

A second yelp and his mother had freed herself in the commotion. "_Charmeleon!_" She snapped over at him, causing the Charmander to look over at her and shake his head. He wouldn't leave her to be hurt and ganged up against. He would help. Or at least, he would try to, but like all children the little Charmander wasn't really weighing up the situation properly.

He turned his head back over to the Houndour, and realised that it was glaring at him. The glare wa fierce and intimidating, and the orange Pokemon squirmed slightly under the gaze. _Terrifying_. He had never seen another Pokemon look so angry. Look so ready to hurt. Ready to _kill_.

"Oh goodness me, it's a mother Pokemon!" The not-Pokemon said. "Leave them alone you two!"

If the Charmander was thinking straight, he might have thought that the not-Pokemon was trying to help them now. However, the way the two dog Pokemon stared at him and his mother had the small lizard frozen in place, the feeling of dread he'd had all night peaking as he realised that there was a real danger this time. He hoped the Houndour would listen to their not-Pokemon.

They didn't.

Both the dogs ran towards him, and paralyzed in his fear the Charmander could not even ready himself. His mother screamed something at him, telling him to run it sounded like, but the rest of the world seemed foggy and blanked out as he watched death run at him on four legs. There was a blur of fire and orange, and one of the dogs seemed to suddenly fly across his peripheral vision. Yet still, the world seemed distant, and as his mother screamed at him again he could barely hear what was said.

The black dog Pokemon leapt, and even time seemed to become distant. The Charmander closed his eyes and waited for death.

Yet, death did not find him. There was an explosion of pain in his back, enough to make him cry out, and time and the world seemed to come back to him as he fell forwards, landed on his feet, jumped and twisted. The pain was like nothing he'd ever experienced, and the Houndour was completely forgotten momentarily as the young Pokemon tried hard to reach the pain on the left side of his back to make it go away.

There were sounds everywhere; the not-Pokemon was yelling at his Houndour to stop and his mother was growling and snapping. A _woosh_ of fire and the Charmander didn't even know which Pokemon, between his mother and the other Houndour, was winning. He turned to try and find his own opponent, suddenly remembering there were two Houndour, but he couldn't see the dog in time to defend himself.

Teeth ripped into his left arm, causing even greater pain, and he managed another cry as he turned and lashed out with his good arm at the face of the Houndour biting him. He missed. He scratched again, with vigor this time, and slapped at the dog Pokemon with his tail. He didn't miss, and his claws created more scratches in the face of the dog; deeper scratches that would possibly scar for a while.

The Houndour yelped and let go, lashing out with a paw and hitting the already injured right arm with impressive force. Not as strong as his opponent, the Charmander was easily thrown to one side, disappearing into the bushes. The world was spinning and he couldn't tell up from down as he tried to stand. His arm was badly injured, and he couldn't put weight on it at all. The not-Pokemon was screaming now, but the orange lizard couldn't make out what he was saying any more. The world was getting dark, very dark, and despite his efforts the young Charmander couldn't keep himself conscious.

As his world went black and the noise faded, all the little Charmander wished for was that his mother would come back for him, and that they could go home.

* * *

Light. It was light.

With a groan, the Charmander opened his eyes and squinted. He moved to cover his eyes with his left arm, and yelped at the horrendous pain he could feel. He turned quickly, only to realise there was some kind of dead weight on his back. It was keeping him somewhat warm, but it felt heavy and strangely cold. Perhaps his mother had hidden him away in a hole to keep him safe?

That's right, there had been a fight. Worry filled the little Charmander, and he huddled back into the darker area. It was so quiet, and cold outside too. The early morning fog was rolling across the fields, and a few aerial Pokemon were flying across the sky. Where were the dog Pokemon? Where was the not-Pokemon?

"_Char!_"

He waited for a few minutes, but his mother did not answer his call. Perhaps she had lead the not-Pokemon and his nasty dogs away. Frightened, alone, and in a lot of pain, the young Pokemon wondered what he should do. He was slightly hungry now, and it was getting colder the longer he didn't do anything. Sniffling, and trying to keep his tears at being so frightened and alone to himself, the Charmander called out for his mother again. Still, she didn't answer.

Maybe she was back at their nest. Waiting for a safe time to come and collect him. She would never abandon him willingly, after all. Filled with slight hope that maybe she was back home, the Charmander pulled himself out of the small hole, wincing as he did so. It was strange, part of the earth felt like it was following him as he crawled out. Standing upright, the Charmander jumped a little as something hit the ground behind him with a gentle '_thump_'.

He turned and checked to see what it was, assuming maybe it had been a branch. What met his eyes made him cry in horror and shock, and he staggered backwards so fast he fell onto his back, causing pain in the scratches there as he landed on a rough surface.

It was a Pokemon. It was dark orange, though it was almost hard to tell given the amount of scars and bites and bruises and dirt. It looked like an overgrown Charmander, with a funny bump on its head. For a minute, the baby Charmander couldn't process what he was seeing aside from a Pokemon that looked hurt.

Then he realised it wasn't just any Pokemon, but it was a Charmeleon. Beaten and torn and battered, but still a Charmeleon. His mother. Feeling overjoyed that his mother was with him, albeit very injured, the Charmander rushed up to her and hugged her with an overjoyed "_Char!_"

When there was no response, the Charmander's joy began to seep away little by little. He let go of her body and blinked sadly, moving to shake her. His confidence fell dramatically as she continued to be still, and not respond to anything he did. His gentle shakes became more vigorous, but nothing he did worked. His mother wouldn't wake up, and the light on her tail had gone out. She didn't even seem to be breathing.

Something inside the baby Charmander broke in a way that hurt more than any of his scratches. He sat there, shaking his mother and calling at her to wake up, but she never did, and somewhere inside the Charmander knew she was never going to. She was gone.

"_... Char..._"


	2. Chapter 2 : Gift of Life

Upon realising his mother was dead, and that nothing in the world would bring her back to him, the small Charmander had been unable to touch her corpse. It felt wrong; she was now too cold whereas before she was always warm. She also seemed to be going stiff, as if her muscles were freezing into place. It simply wasn't _right_ and the small orange lizard didn't dare to touch her again. He also could not bring himself to leave his mother's side. He did not know how to hunt, and he would be lucky if he could forage simple berries on his own without his mother's help. He was incredibly young, and with his mother dead, he had lost most of his will to live. He would die next to his mother, eventually, and then everything would be over.

A week went by and no other Pokemon came to the young Charmander's assistance. The mist that came down upon the land every morning covered the grass with beads of water, and it was all the young Pokemon could do to lick them up. He lost track of time, days came and went, and he grew ever thinner and ever weaker.

It was only when thunder rolled across the sky and rain began to patter down to the earth that the Charmander knew his life was truly over. Or, so he assumed. As his vision became blurry and he slipped into a world of cold darkness, he could only assume that it was death finally giving him an escape from the world.

* * *

The rain was falling down hard. Did it rain in the place you went to after you died? The Charmander didn't know. There was something warm, but quite wet, draped over his back. It was a poor shield from the rain.

It felt like he was being rocked, but the young Pokemon couldn't tell before the darkness overwhelmed him again.

* * *

He could hear voices faintly in the distance. They sounded worried. They weren't Pokemon voices though, they sounded like not-Pokemon.

It wasn't raining any more.

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

It was really warm now, pleasantly so. In fact, it was to the point it felt like his body was bathing under the bright orb in the sky his mother called the "sun". The beeping wouldn't stop, though. What sort of creature made that noise? It sounded like a heartbeat.

The Charmander recognised it as a heartbeat because he had regularly listened to his mother's when he felt frightened. She would hold him to his chest and let him listen, and it always calmed him down.

His mother... where was she? He hadn't seen her yet and he was surely very dead. Then again, the young Pokemon realised he hadn't managed to open his eyes yet. He was so weak and so tired. Too tired to even open his eyelids and see.

He would do it later. The warmth sent him back into a world of darkness before he could muster the effort to even try.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

_

* * *

_

That creature that beeped was still beeping. Had it even stopped beeping? Either way, it was starting to grate on the nerves of the young Charmander as he came to. He managed a weak growl of disapproval, shuffling feebly to try and cover his head with his paws. He paused however when he realised there was something funny in his left arm.

Slowly, very slowly, the small orange lizard opened his eyes. He had to squint to see through the light that nearly blinded him, after so used to seeing darkness. Light? So it must be sunny. Or so he assumed.

His eyes took a few minutes to adjust, but once they had the Charmander did not know what to think. Something was taped to his left arm; a tube of some kind came upwards from it and eventually met a bag filled with some kind of liquid. Water? It looked like it could be water, but it was hard to tell. He was lying on a rather comfortable surface that felt soft, and very warm. It wasn't any surface he'd ever known before, though. It was almost like fur.

The Charmander also realised he was in some kind of a box. Being so enclosed stirred an urge to try and struggle, but he was still tired and weak. His eyelids were already drooping. "_Char..._" He mumbled weakly, looking up at the strange beeping creature standing outside his box. Its face had no eyes or nose, and was black. A green line that looked like its mouth kept zig-zagging every time it beeped. How odd.

Glancing around to try and work out what strange place he was in, the last thing the young Pokemon caught sight of was a big sign over big, funny wooden panels. ICU.


	3. Chapter 3 : Strange New World

An unknown amount of time had passed by the Charmander as he remained in the strange, highly foreign place. Every now and then he would wake from unconsciousness and catch small parts of conversations between not-Pokemon, or take a glance around to see where he was. He had come to the conclusion he was in the place where not-Pokemon must live, because it didn't look like any forest or mountain he'd ever been to. In fact, the place was horrible! There was no open space, and the sky wasn't the sky; it had multiple suns and there was no blue to be seen at all. The beeping creature was still beeping, and it never did anything else. The young Pokemon had tried speaking to it once when he found the strength to truly use his voice, but the beeping creature didn't listen.

Eventually the Charmander had gotten his strength back. The scars from the Houndour that had attacked him and his mother were still healing, but they didn't really hurt any more. The not-Pokemon started to deliver him strange food, but no matter how strange it was, it was still food and the Charmander ate it.

It was morning, or afternoon, or evening (the orange lizard couldn't tell with all the suns that never seemed to move in the sky) when two not-Pokemon approached him inside his little box, accompanied by a Chansey. The Chansey wore a funny hat that was white, with a red mark on it that looked like the marking on a Drifloon's face, except turned around slightly. One of the not-Pokemon also wore the same hat.

"It's made a remarkable recovery, hasn't it?" The taller of the two not-Pokemon asked, stroking the coarse-looking fur on the bottom of his face. He wore something strange on his face that covered his beady eyes, and it made him strangely intimidating. The Charmander tried to sink back against the side of his box.

"It has, Doctor." The female agreed, nodding her head and bending down to be eye level with him. She was pulling a face that looked friendly and welcoming, but the young Pokemon refused to trust the friendly face and pressed himself against his box even further, growling before he could help himself. "It seems to be quite wild, though, Doctor. We can't release it, it's too young to survive on its own."

The taller, male not-Pokemon, _Doctor_, pulled a face too. His lips pulled downwards into a frown, a look of disappointment, and he too nodded very slowly. "Very true, Nurse Joy, and this is a problem."

The female not-Pokemon straightened, and her friendly face had been replaced by a look of sadness. "I don't think those scars will ever go away, either. He's going to have them for the rest of his life."

At this, the Charmander relaxed, quickly looking down at the scratches he could see. They were still healing, but now that the female not-Pokemon had said something about it, they seemed to look strangely permanent. This saddened the lizard, and he quickly realised he didn't want the scars to stay. They only carried with them terrible memories.

"Well he can't stay in the ICU, Nurse Joy, as he is clearly no longer in need of intensive care. Now we must work out what to do with him, and how to move him." Doctor said in a firm voice, folding his arms across his chest and cocking his head to one side as he watched the Pokemon. The Charmander met his gaze evenly, and after a few moments Doctor seemed to pull the same friendly face the female had, and he chuckled. "He's going to be a stubborn one. I can see it in those fiery eyes of his."

The two not-Pokemon turned away, still talking about what to do with him, and began to walk towards other boxes with other Pokemon in them. The Chansey did not follow them, standing in front of the Charmander's box and smiling away at him in an attempt to be reassuring. The lizard relaxed a little more, feeling more comfortable now the very big not-Pokemon had walked away, and sniffled.

"_Charman?_"

The egg-shaped pink Pokemon seemed to blink at his question, before looking around the room and then shrugging. "_Chansey. Chanse._"

Hospital? That was where he was? The Charmander frowned before he could help it, and looked around again himself. What a horrible place. "_Chamander char char. Charman..._"

The Chansey suddenly giggled, and as she was clearly quite amused by what had been said, the younger Pokemon frowned at her in his box. He was alive, in a place called "Hospital" and a Chansey was practically laughing at him. He should have stayed unconscious.

* * *

The Chansey had gladly answered the young Charmander's questions for the following several minutes before she had to get back to helping her human friends. Humans, that's what the not-Pokemon were actually called. Human females were "girls" or "women" and human males were "boys" or "men."

She had also told him how he came to end up in the strange place of Hospital. A young girl had brought him into Hospital after finding him at the side of the road. He had been terribly skinny and weak, and Doctor and Nurse Joy thought he wasn't going to make it. The girl who saved him had been very concerned and came into Hospital every day to ask if he was alright. She had been delighted to hear that he was recovering.

Of course, the girl and Doctor and Nurse Joy did not know what had happened to kill his mother (the girl had told them about the dead Charmeleon and had been very distressed, apparently) nor did they know why the Charmander was so beaten up. The Chansey had been horrified to hear of the Houndour attack and had seemed downright furious to hear that it had been a human's Pokemon that caused all the damage. She hadn't stayed angry for very long, and she insisted that not every human was such a terribly bad person with lack of control. The Charmander did not feel particularly encouraged to like humans, despite how very well cared for the Chansey clearly was and despite how she explained every Pokemon in Hospital was always well cared for until they were better. They were strange creatures that didn't understand the language he spoke, and seemed needlessly violent. The Chansey had _not_ explained to him why so many Pokemon came to Hospital. It was suspicious, and the young orange lizard did not like it one bit.

The Chansey had left before she could explain about "village" and assured the Charmander that he would be fine. Not convinced, the Pokemon turned his nose up at the pink one's advice and began to try and plan his escape. He didn't want to be in Hospital, or wherever "village" was, because the humans frightened him and seemed quite threatening. How any Pokemon could trust them, he did not know. The only problem to his theory of escape was that he still could not hunt on his own and foraging would be no easy task when he didn't know the layout of the land. He didn't even know where his home territory was. It made escape daunting.

It was morning, afternoon or evening when Nurse Joy and Doctor came back to his box. They looked apprehensive of something, watching him with wary eyes.

"Nurse, he is the right age to produce fire. He could burn this hospital down to the ground if we aren't careful." Doctor said, his voice confirming the fear he was displaying. Fear? They were _afraid_ of him? The Charmander could only wonder why.

"I think, if he could breathe fire, he wouldn't be in this hospital, Doctor."

The young Pokemon realised they were trying to decide whether he could or could not breathe fire yet. The sad fact of the matter was that he had not learnt to, despite the fact Doctor said he was at the age where he _should_ be able to. This was slightly depressing for the Charmander, but he tried to put it behind him as he listened to the conversation. Or, he tried to anyway. They spoke quietly now, and he couldn't hear what they were saying.

It was only when they straightened, nodded firmly at each other and took the lid off of his box that the Charmander realised they had come to some sort of decision. When gloved hands reached down to pick him up, he also realised they were going to touch him. Grab him, even. Instinctively, the Charmander panicked.

He pulled backwards, away from the hands, and pressed himself against the back of the box. The hands closed down on thin air, and the young lizard didn't miss the chance he was presented with. He bunched himself together before leaping into the air, over the edge of his box and out of it. The creature that beeped was beeping in a frantic rhythm, nothing like normal. Maybe it was frightened too? As the Charmander reached the floor, small leads that led to sticky pads on his chest caught around one of his forelegs. The creature that beeped jerked, while Doctor and Nurse Joy shouted things to each other.

_Rip_.

The sticky pads on his chest came off as the Charmander pulled away to try and escape Doctor, who was closing in on him, and it hurt a lot more than he thought it would. The creature that beeped stopped beeping, and as the young orange Pokemon freed his leg he quickly dashed away from Doctor.

Chansey was in the room now, too, and she was also yelling at the Charmander. She insisted that they would not hurt him and that they were letting him out of Hospital, but the Charmander was so full of adrenaline that what she said didn't really register. In his panic he darted behind tables and other creatures that beeped, trying to find an escape as Nurse Joy and Doctor and even the Chansey chased after him.

Whenever he got close to the big wooden panels he knew to be the exit, the Chansey would block his way and use Reflect to make sure he couldn't run past her. Frustrated at the lack of assistance from his fellow Pokemon, the Charmander got increasingly panicked, agitated, and angry.

He was also getting tired.

After five minutes of fruitless dodging, weaving and evading, the Charmander made one last effort to escape. He ran towards the doors once again, steeling himself as the Chansey blocked his way and cast Reflect once again. With an angry little battle cry, he leapt at the barrier with claws at the ready.

The Chansey, of course, was more experienced than he was, and it was quite clear that she had done this sort of thing before. The glowing, golden barrier barely scratched, and certainly didn't move, and the Charmander slumped to the floor with a little thud. Doctor and Nurse Joy took the chance to close the gap between themselves and him, and by the time the Charmander was on all fours the Chansey had used her barrier to push him into a corner and leave him only one line of escape. A line of escape that was blocked by both Nurse Joy and Doctor, both of whom were slowly walking towards him one behind the other.

The orange lizard dashed forwards, and successfully weaved between Doctor's legs. Nurse Joy however, standing a few steps behind Doctor, was more than ready for him, and scooped him up tightly into her arms as he tried to run past her. The Charmander growled and wriggled furiously, biting on Nurse Joy's gloves despite the fact they were very heavily padded and he wouldn't break through them nor hurt her.

"I'm glad he's going if this is how he is." Doctor sighed, shaking his head. "He gave us the run around for far too long."

"He's only young, though, and he's not used to people. I'm sure his foster home will make sure he's used to people before he goes up for adoption." Nurse Joy responded, looking down at the Pokemon in her arms as he stopped all struggles.

The Charmander huffed morosely, resting his chin on the elbow of his capturer in a manner that suggested he felt utterly defeated. However, despite the run around he had given them and despite the fact he had even tried to bite Nurse Joy, neither Doctor or Nurse Joy seemed angry with him. In fact both seemed rather pleased.

"At least we know his scars haven't done lasting damage. He tires easily but he's certainly a fit and nearly healthy little Pokemon." Doctor chuckled after a moment. "I have other patients to tend to. I don't think it wise to put that little one into a Pokeball quite yet, Joy, so why don't you place him into a fireproof carrying crate instead?" And with that, Doctor turned around and took his thick gloves off, patting the Chansey gently as he walked past her and out that part of Hospital.

The Charmander could not help but glare at the doors as they opened and then shut. As Nurse Joy began to move off, taking him into another room, he tried to look around, and struggled briefly once again. As such, the Nurse did not let go of him, and after several minutes of walking they came to a room full of more boxes. What was it with humans and boxes? They lived in boxes and put Pokemon in boxes. It seemed so strange. He watched with curious, bi-coloured eyes as the Chansey pottered forward and took out a red one, opening the door to the strange box and checking inside it briefly. She then pottered to a table at the back of the new room, and took a blanket and two bowls from it, before returning to the red box and placing the blanket carefully inside along with the two bowls. "_Chansey!_"

The Charmander blinked as the Chansey said it was ready, and as Nurse Joy bent down and began to outstretch her arms to hold him towards the box his struggles picked up greatly. He didn't _want_ to go into another box and they would have to force him in there if they wanted him to go into another box.

Something that they most certainly did. While his struggles were valiant, Nurse Joy was clearly used to handling struggling Pokemon, and it was an easy task for her and the Chansey to get him into the box. The door, with a few metal bars at the top which he could look through, clanged shut behind him. The box wad dark now the door was closed, the only light coming from it provided by the bars at the top of his door. It was surprisingly comfortable and pleasant, and the blanket was warm and soft. He didn't enjoy being in the box, but the Charmander quickly calmed down within minutes of being shut inside it. It was quieter inside the box, too.

As Nurse Joy picked up his new box, it rocked in a strange way, and the Charmander briefly twisted around as he tried to keep his balance. The box was sturdy however and it didn't break at all, even when he pushed against the sides. Not about to escape his new box, and finding it more peaceful than his old box in Hospital, the Charmander made use of his blanket and curled up in it as Nurse Joy walked, presumably through Hospital, to a new place.

Or at least, he hoped it was a new place. The Charmander did not really like Hospital.


	4. Chapter 4 : Names

_**Author's Note: **__Howdy folks!_

_Hopefully y'all like the story so far. Right now I'm aiming for a chapter a day – or as close to that as possible – so updates shouldn't be any more than a day or two apart at most. Gotta really try and keep myself dedicated, otherwise this story will not reach the end, which would be sad. Author's notes won't be too common in the future, either, I'll just try leave you with the story and no boring bits. Like this. Nobody likes these boring little bits._

_Anywho! This little note here is to let you know that from this chapter onwards, we will now be __**hearing what Pokemon say**__. Up until this point we've only heard what we only ever hear one of the creatures say: their names. For the purpose of this story, this does have to change, and since we're seeing it from the Charmander's perspective anyway it won't hurt. Pokemon speech will remain in italics. _

_Hope you guys are enjoying the chapters so far! Thank you in advance for any reviews, they're all highly appreciated._

_

* * *

_

His new box was more comfortable, if only because it was a great deal darker than his old one. It felt more private, which was something the Charmander honestly appreciated after feeling so weak, vulnerable and exposed. His mother had always found caves or dark areas to shelter in, and it while it was a far cry from any home she had ever found him, it was reminiscent of his past homes enough to make him feel a little more comfortable.

Curled up in his blanket, the Charmander idly stared out the bars at the top of the box door. He couldn't see very much; objects moved past the bars and indicated he was still moving. His curiosity made him wonder where Nurse Joy was taking him. She had spoken with Doctor about the fact he had recovered, and was going to a "foster home". What was a foster home? He had never heard of a place called foster before.

The only thing he knew about the place of foster was it had more humans in it. More not-Pokemon that he still did not trust and would rather avoid, because it had been a not-Pokemon to ruin his life in the first place. The thought was incredibly unsettling, and it made the young lizard Pokemon fidget in his box. He didn't get much time to consider any more about the place of foster however, because with a little bump the box came to a stop. Placed on some kind of surface, maybe?

"Emily! It's so lovely to see you again, how have you been?" Nurse Joy's voice floated to his ears, causing the Charmander to slowly stand up on all fours and inch towards the bars on his box door. He wanted to know who this Emily was.

"Oh, you know, busy as usual. Not easy running a rescue centre for Pokemon, but we do try." A new voice said, logic telling him that it must be the voice of Emily. She was a woman, too.

"I see you've brought little Mirabelle with you."

"Oh, of course! Mirabelle's been very helpful lately and I promised her she could come on her first outing with me for her birthday, to see what Pokemon we're fostering."

Nurse Joy chuckled from somewhere behind the box, and the Charmander glanced back briefly as if to check. He frowned at the back of his box, which revealed nothing about Nurse Joy and what she was doing, before he turned his attention to the front once again. Slowly, he raised himself up onto his haunches, peeking out through the bars.

The first human he saw he assumed to be Emily. She was white in skin colour, with slightly pink cheeks, and sparkling emerald eyes that seemed quite happy. Her lips were round and full and she spoke very clearly, and her hair was short and blonde. Pretty. She was very pretty. She also looked very friendly, and despite his severe mistrust for not-Pokemon, the Charmander couldn't help but feel slightly at ease seeing her. She looked like she would be more understanding of him than any other not-Pokemon yet.

As it was, she was looking down at something he could not see. Maybe she was looking at whoever this Mirabelle human was?

A new voice, not Emily's and not Nurse Joy's, spoke out suddenly. It was a voice that sounded much younger, and far more girlish. "What's in that box?"

The Charmander tilted his head as Emily smiled down at whatever he couldn't see. "That's going to be the Pokemon we're fostering. Or at least, I think it is." She said softly.

"Yes, it is." Nurse Joy confirmed, still behind the box and out of sight. "It's a male Charmander, very young. If he were a person, Mirabelle, he would be younger than you." Nurse Joy paused, and there was a little gasp from the girl he couldn't see.

"Is he tiny?" The young voice squealed in excitement.

"Well, he's not _tiny_, but he is smaller than an adult Charmander."

"Why is he not with his mommy?" This question made the Charmander flinch slightly.

There was silence, and the lizard watched as Emily's expression contorted slightly. She looked sad. "We think that he got separated from his mommy by accident." Emily was quick to say, bending down until she was as out of sight as the person she was speaking to was. "We've not been able to find his mommy so we have to take care of him."

"That's right." Nurse Joy's voice sounded strained. "He also got attacked by some kind of Pokemon while he was on his own, so he has scars on his arm and his back. He doesn't trust people very much, so you have to be careful with him." She then added, speaking slowly as if she didn't trust this "Mirabelle" to understand if she went any faster.

Emily came back into sight, nodding slowly. "He's a very special case Mirabelle. He needs a lot of time and patience, and love."

"I wanna see him!"

"You'll have to be quiet then. You'll frighten him if you're too loud." Emily warned, but there was a smile on her face. She seemed to laugh at something that the Charmander couldn't see. He leant forward on his door, trying hard to peer downwards and see just what Emily was looking at, when Emily reached over towards him and his box suddenly. The movement made him jump and shuffled backwards as his box was picked up off the surface it was on, and then lowered down to the floor. Once the box stopped moving, the Charmander felt a little more steady, and he looked upwards at the bars once again.

A face was there, watching him. The surprise made him seize up and press himself against the back of the box, staring with wide eyes at the face. They watched each other for a moment, the new face rounder with very rosy cheeks and an expression full of different emotions. There was a huge smile present too, and based on the long, curly brown hair that framed it, the face probably belonged to a girl.

"Mommy!" She gasped, although admittedly she _was_ somewhat quiet. The face disappeared, and presumably the girl had moved to stand up. "Mommy! His eyes are different colours!"

"Are they really? What colours are they?" The voice of Emily asked, sounding amused.

"One of them is bright yellow and the other is... is... tell... what's that colour that's like bright blue and bright green mixed together, mommy?"

"Teal?"

"Yeah! The other one is teal!"

The face of the young girl reappeared in front of the bars just as suddenly as it had disappeared. The sheer excitement frightened the Charmander if only because she seemed so hyperactive and unpredictable, but at the same time something about her expression reassured him. Made him feel strangely wanted, and cared for. There was an undeniable look of love in the girl's emerald eyes as she stared at him, and despite the fact she was clearly young and not in the best control of herself, the expression on her face somehow told the Charmander she would never consciously hurt him.

How the Charmander knew this, he couldn't say. He still did not trust humans any more than he had done before he saw Emily, or this Mirabelle, but a tiny feeling in his gut told him these two humans would be different from all the others. A tiny feeling in his gut told him that whenever he looked at Emily, and Emily looked at him, a small part of his mother was watching him again, making sure he was okay.

"Well, I won't keep you any longer, Nurse Joy. Thank you so much for the call."

"It's no problem. Honestly Emily I don't know where we, or some of our Pokemon, would be without you there to help them. The work you do is appreciated." Nurse Joy answered, and she sounded thankful and happy.

The box lurched suddenly as it was picked up, and briefly the Charmander scrabbled against the floor of it as he tried to dig in his claws and keep his balance. "I'll let you know how he does!" The voice of Emily said as the box continued to rock slightly, indicating movement and that Emily was not just carrying the box, but walking somewhere with it.

"What's his name, mommy?" The voice of Mirabelle said suddenly, sounding curious.

"I don't think he has one. Why don't you give him a name, Mirabelle?" Emily answered.

"I'd love to! Um... uh... what about... Fire? No I don't like that... Oh can we call him Thane?"

"Sure we can."

Mirabelle's head appeared in front of the bars again. "Do you like the name Thane?" She asked, and the Charmander blinked as he realised that she was talking to him. He didn't answer the human girl, watching and listening as her mother told her to watch where she was going unless she wanted to trip. What was a name? He didn't know what a name was, nor whether he liked "Thane" either.

* * *

"You stay back behind that special grate, Mirabelle. Thane isn't used to people and I don't want either of you to get hurt."

They had since arrived... somewhere... at an unknown time... and the box had been put down. From what he could see, the Charmander was in another room in another box that Emily and Mirabelle lived in. Was this box called Hospital as well? He really didn't know. The room he was in was somewhat small, but looked a lot more comfortable then Hospital. The floor was made of the same funny fur-like grass that looked very soft, and in the corner of the room there was a big rock that was not a rock. It looked very soft and smooth, not hard and rough like most rocks. The Charmander was curious as to what it would feel like.

"Alright then, little Thane, I'm going to open your cage door now. Okay? Please don't bite me." Emily said, and the Charmander got the feeling she was talking to him. She was going to let him out of his box, into the bigger box, and she didn't want him to bite her. It _seemed_ reasonable enough. Provided she didn't try to touch him or catch him or hurt him, he didn't really have a reason to hurt her.

The door to his box opened slowly, revealing the new room that he was getting to stay in. It was the most space he had been given since waking up in Hospital, and the Charmander grateful for that at least. He watched and observed for a moment, taking in everything and checking for dangers, before very slowly inching forward, step by step, on all fours. He poked his nose out the front of his box and took in a few deep breaths. The new, bigger box smelt very funny. It didn't smell of other Pokemon or of grass or wet rocks. It smelt strangely clean. Unnatural, but clean.

Step, step, step, and eventually the Charmander was halfway out of his box. He looked around for Emily or Mirabelle, but neither of them were actually in the new room. Curious as to where they were, and realising the new bigger box was quite safe, the young Pokemon abandoned his old box and looked around the side of it, to see for the first time what was behind him.

The only exit to the new room was blocked by a very strange door that wasn't like any other door he'd seen. It was a metal door that had lots of holes in it. It made seeing through to the other side somewhat difficult, but he could tell Emily and Mirabelle were on the other side of the door, watching him. Mirabelle seemed to be amazed, where as Emily just seemed very pleased.

"Come on Mirabelle." Emily said quietly after a moment, placing her hands on the young girl's shoulders and leaning down to speak softly into her ear. "Let's give Thane a chance to settle in and explore. We'll check on him in the evening."

The young girl, Mirabelle, pouted at this, looking up at Emily briefly with that expression of displeasure, before offering the Charmander with a sad little wave and turning around, walking away with Emily and chattering to her presumably about the Charmander himself. As Emily paused and shut another door that was on the other side of the strange metal one, the conversation went silent, and the Charmander could no longer hear either person.

Within moments, he was completely alone. The little orange lizard looked around again, taking in all the details this time and pondering what he wanted to explore first. There were two round things that looked like Voltorb, and before he could help it the Charmander instinctively growled at the pair of them. The two Voltorb did nothing in response, not even looking at him, and the young Pokemon crept forward to take a closer inspection. Still the other two ball Pokemon did absolutely nothing, as if not even aware of his presence.

After a moment of thought, the Charmander pounced upon one. His eyes widened as the Voltorb squashed under his weight, and became even more downright frightened as he was then bounced off the rubbery Voltorb. With a funny yelp the Charmander landed sprawled out on the ground, eyes wide as he stared at the wall and took a moment to regain himself. Rubber Voltorbs? That wasn't even possible. Clearly these balls were not real Voltorbs. The young Pokemon did not understand that the two rubber balls were toys, and he threw the two fake electric Pokemon a very indignant glare before turning his back on them both and making his way towards the funny looking rock.

He sat down in front of it, watching it with much interest and slowly reaching out with a paw to poke it. He was cautious and slow, as if this strange thing would somehow bounce him around as well.

"_It won't bite you, you know?_"

The Charmander yelped, jumping to his paws and taking up a defensive position as he stared up towards the open window. There, calm and clearly amused, a Tailow sat, looking down at him from on high.

"_Wh-who are you?_" The little lizard snapped, not particularly enjoying being surprised twice in such a short space of time.

The Tailow cocked it's head to one side, raising a brow slightly at the younger Pokemon before awkwardly shrugging it's wings. "_I'm Swifter. Emily rescued me a few years ago, and has let me live here ever since._"

The Charmander blinked at this, relaxing slowly and allowing himself to sit down after a moment. Swifter followed every movement he made. She seemed inquisitive. "_What do they want with me?_" He asked the small bird.

Swifter seemed to laugh at this, and at one point she almost fell from her perch. "_**Want**__ from you? They want nothing more than to see you get better, you stupid lizard._" She answered, ignoring the glare that the Charmander gave her as she called him stupid. "_What did they name you, anyway?_"

"_They keep calling me "Thane". What's a name?_"

"_A name is something that the humans, and other Pokemon, will call you by. It's something that makes you an individual here._" The Tailow explained, bobbing her head slightly. "_You should feel special to have a name._"

The Charmander blinked, moving his gaze from Swifter down until he was staring straight in front of him. "_Will everybody call me Thane from now on?_" He questioned quietly, not looking back up at the dark blue, white bellied bird.

"_Yes, they will. Better start thinking yourself as "Thane" from now on, lizard._" Was the very short and sweet answer.

Looking upwards again, the young Pokemon blinked as he realised Swifter had already flown away. He cocked his head to one side, pawing idly up at the air as if wishing for her to come back, before he let out a sigh and looked back down at the soft rock. Idly, he pressed a paw into it, blinking as it moved under his weight. It _was_ soft after all.

A yawn passed by his lips, and the Charmander realised he was tired. Ignoring the food and water that had been left out in bowls for him, he slowly clambered up onto the soft rock, stumbling now and then as he tried to get used to the awkward way it moved, before digging gently at it and then curling up on top of it. It was undeniably comfortable, at least, and very warm.

His mind slowed down, and with a second, longer yawn, Thane closed his eyes and allowed sleep to carry him away to a distant land. As he did so, the only thing that he could really think, was that yes. He did like his new name, Thane.


	5. Author's Note: Happy Holidays

**Oh my goodness you guys, I am so sorry. D:**

Christmas got horribly, horribly busy for me and I couldn't find the time to come back and write about our loveable Thane and his adventures! I'm not quite as busy anymore, although slightly lacking in muse, but I promise you guys another chapter very soon. No, really, I do. Keep a look out for the new chapter around New Year's.

On that note though, I hope you guys had a lovely holiday and got some great presents! If you got anything seriously epic, you should totally message me and tell me.

Again, I really do apologise for the sudden delay in chapters despite my promise to update once a week. I just didn't expect the Christmas season to suddenly fall on top of me like it did. And between the busy family and the horrible snowy weather here in Britain which has made our internet act pretty funky now and then, it really did fall on top of me. I'll get another chapter up for you guys ASAP, and then we'll return to our once a week updates once life is a bit more normal where I am. Thanks for bearing with me. 3

P.S. This'll be deleted when the new chapter is up. :3


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